


Working With My Ex

by Musically93



Category: freeform - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:16:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27203044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Musically93/pseuds/Musically93
Summary: Brianna leads a simple life; she had the job she wanted, she had two wonderful kids and a husband, who on some days showed his affection. She was stuck in a loop; wake up, work, take care of kids and husband, etc. But one day when she goes to work, her life changed in the most unexpected way.
Relationships: Brianna Johnson/Andy Smith





	1. The First Day

Brianna was late for work that morning already; spilling her coffee on her shirt seemed to be the icing on the cake for that morning. She looked down at her watch and it read 6:45 in the morning. It was a Wednesday, her favorite day of the week because it was the half-mark to the end of the workweek. She sipped what was left of her coffee, brushed her tangled hair into a simple ponytail, and rushed out the door. 

Heading to the elevator, she checked her briefcase to make sure she had everything she needed. She couldn’t tell, so she figured it would be good enough. The elevator ride down was slower than normal. It was a quiet morning in her apartment complex when usually it was bustling with people who were always in a rush. The small apartment building was on the better part of town, the only one on their street with a better reputation.

As Brianna walked by the security desk, she had noticed a new girl sitting there. Well, she wasn’t quite a “girl” at all. She was an older woman with a slimmed-down face and grayish-brown hair. She had dark circles under her eyes and an expression that could kill.

“Hello,” Brianna said cheerfully rushing out the front lobby.

“Hmph.” The woman rolled her eyes and went back to her magazine. Who even reads those anymore, Brianna thought to herself. She chuckled and raced down the road to the office building at the end of the street. 

This was the best opportunity she had found for work. The building was right down the road from her place of residence and the rent was cheap. She worked on the fifth floor (management) and she had an office of her own. Two degrees later, she felt like she had everything. Well, almost everything. She was married with two kids. Her husband was a construction worker, and her children attended the school in the same district in which they lived. She was very blessed, but she hated where she lived. She hated the state, the town, everything. She grew up here and wanted out. Her husband didn’t let her have a say. She felt guilty for even bringing it up so she didn’t.

“Brianna!” A voice from the front lobby almost made her catch her finger in the door as she was shutting it.

“Oh, Sam, you scared me.” Sam was her childhood friend. She was always with Brianna through everything that happened. 

“Sorry, dear. You’re late!” She grabbed Brianna’s arm and drug her towards the elevator. They headed up the elevator to the fifth floor and with the ding, they were rushing to the board room where many of Brianna’s colleagues were waiting for her. 

“Ah, Mrs. Johnson, if you could sit we will continue. It’s ok you were only five minutes late.” The CEO of the company Brianna works for, James Mable, understood everything she was going through, so he didn’t care. They were also really close friends growing up so it helps to know people. “Now,” he continued, “before we start our workday and as I was saying before, we have a new member of our management team; Mister Andy Smith.” He began clapping as did everyone, except Brianna. James looked at her apologetically and continued clapping. It finally dawned on Sam who was hired and she rubbed Brianna’s back, making her flinch. “Are you okay?” 

Brianna shook her head. She looked to the end of the table and Andy’s face was just as white as hers was. He saw her look over, his face flushed and he looked down at the table. This can’t be happening, he thought. Why did he end up here with Brianna of all people? He figured she’d move, but then again he did block her from all social media.  
Brianna had the same thoughts. She was dreading the rest of this day. It could not get any worse, so she thought. James said his final words, and everyone started to leave. 

“Hold on now,” he said making everyone stop in their tracks, “I have your partners for this week's recruiting jobs.” Recruiting jobs were the easier part of the job. You grabbed a partner, went to the local colleges for a week, or even colleges out of town, and recruited these students who were majoring in your field. You got a bonus for every student who you recruited. Brianna always got paired with Sam, so she wasn’t worried.

“Sam, you’re with Amelia. Brianna, with Andy, Jerry with Hanna…”

WHAT?! Brianna was with Andy…With ANDY! She didn’t think it could get any worse. It did. James looked at her apologetically once he was finished, and darted out of the room once all of the names were called. Brianna was livid, and she would have a talk with James later. Right now, she had to deal with Andy.

Andy saw Brianna’s face. He had the same feelings. He guessed she still hated him for all those years ago. But they had to work together, so he would make the best of it and would try to be polite…

“H-hi, Bri,” Andy said sitting in the chair next to him.She looked up at him and her face turned a pale red. He wasn’t sure if it was from embarrassment, anger or both. “Hi,” she mumbled looking away from him.

“Oh, I think I hear Amelia calling for me, see you later Brianna.” Sam patted her on the back and ran towards the nearest exit. Brianna rolled her eyes. Typical.

“Well, I guess we find out what school we have shortly,” Andy said after a few moments of silence. Brianna nodded. “Yep,” she popped her lips on the “p”. She still couldn’t look him in the eyes. It was an embarrassment, and anger that kept her face red as a tomato. She never wanted to speak to him again, but here they are. He honestly felt the same way because he decided to block her on all social media accounts.

“Well, I’ve got work to do.” Brianna got up and wandered to her office, which for some reason had another desk in the corner next to hers. “What the—oh.” She had forgotten that the partners in the recruiting jobs had to share an office temporarily. She slammed her briefcase down, knocking her keyboard off her desk and onto the floor. 

Tears welt up in her eyes. She was already having a rough time at home and now she had to deal with freaking Andy Smith. She slumped down in her chair and put her head inside of her hands. When she went to pick up the keyboard, Andy’s hand brushed against hers. She withdrew quickly and snatched up the keyboard and placed it in its rightful spot.

Andy, on the other hand, had butterflies in his stomach. What was wrong with him? He hated Brianna. “Sorry,” he said rubbing the back of his neck. 

Brianna shrugged. “Make yourself at home.” She motioned towards space with the extra desk and smiled. She had to be civil, even if it was towards her ex.


	2. The Neighbor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After finding out she was working with her ex-boyfriend, Bri was devastated. She has to stay for one week in a strange place with someone who now is a stranger to her. She then learns that maybe it wasn't such a bad thing after all...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry all, I was extremely tired when I wrote this. It may sound choppy, weird, and such. I'm not great at big words but I try, and I hope you like it!

The next day was not any for Brianna. She got dressed, made her coffee, and pulled her hair up. Same as the day before, the same as any other of her workdays. But today, Bri felt like doing something different. She looked in the mirror at her bushy brown hair and sighed. 'I could use a good straighten with this mess'… She pulled out her straightener from the bathroom cabinet, pulled her hair from her ponytail, and let her straightener warm up. 

She checked her watch. 6:45 a.m. She had fifteen minutes to straighten her hair and walk to work. If she was late she really didn’t care. James would have to deal with it given the circumstances of which he had put her in. An annoying circumstance. After the beep on her straightener, she ran it through her hair, a little too fast at one point. Her finger had gotten caught in between the hot plates and she threw it to the ground with a 'thud'. She bit her lip and yelped, sending her husband, Liam into the room.

“Bri, what happened?” Liam only spoke to her when there was a “problem”, he honestly knew better otherwise. Liam had slept with one of Brianna’s ex-friends, and they never spoke again. Why she stayed with Liam, she would never know, but their two kids were in the mix. She couldn’t leave them and she didn’t want to separate them from their father.

“I—I,” she sniffed, “I burnt my h-hand.” She said wiping her eye with her better hand.  
“Do you…need anything?” He asked as stood in the doorway and glared down like she was interrupting whatever he was doing. No asking if she was okay, no nothing. She didn’t expect any less from Liam.

“No, just go. I’ve got this.” 

“Mkay,” he shrugged and shut the door behind him. 

She finished her hair, wincing from the pain of the burn, and combed it to the side. She found ointment to put on her wound and bandaged it up and walked out the front door without a word to Liam. He sat in front of the tv (like every other morning) and ignored her presence. Brianna felt a tear stream down her face as she sighed and strode towards the elevator when she noticed one of the apartment doors open (which was normally vacant). She tried not to peek and kept walking, but before she passed the door, Andy walked out of the apartment.

“Oh, Andy, hi.” Bri waved awkwardly.

Andy jumped, startled to see her there. “Oh! Bri. Hey. Why are you here? Did someone tell you where I live?” He was annoyed that someone at work probably told her where he lived so she could bug him about work. 

“No…I live in B5.” She looked away and felt her face grow warm. What did he think I was doing, stalking him?

“Oh. Well. I’m in B1…” He laughed.

“I see that.” 

Why was it so hard to talk to him? The past was the past and you would think that since they were both grown adults, they could talk to one another without being this awkward, right?

“Well, we should get going. I’ll walk you to work if you want. What happened to your hand?” Andy said concerned.

“Oh, it's nothing. We had better walk fast or we will miss out on the good colleges. I personally would like somewhere cold, I’m tired of this heat.” Texas was hot enough in the winter, she wanted to go north and out of it. As for her hand, she didn't want him worrying about it. It was her issue, not his.

“I personally don’t mind the heat,” Andy chuckled, “But I’m sure I’ll like wherever we go.”

“I want to move out of this state altogether, but…” she stopped herself, holding back tears.

“But?”  
“But my husband won’t allow me to move.” She still held in the tears but they were on the corner of her eye ready to fall. She so badly needed out of this state, town, just away.

“I’m sorry, he won’t allow you? Are you his property?” Andy felt enraged. Why would someone treat Bri this way? Is this really what she wanted in life?

“I don’t know, Andy. I thought I had it all. I have the degrees I wanted, the kids I wanted, and the husband I-…” She stopped and thought about what she would say next. Does she have the husband she wanted? 

The rest of the walk to work was in silence and Andy pondered what Brianna was going to say. She didn’t have the husband she wanted, so who is the husband she wants? Was it him? Was it a mistake to drop her like nothing because his family disapproved of her? They only disapproved because she spoke her mind, but at the time he thought they were right. But now, not so much, because he too disappointed them by doing the same thing she did, and he didn’t want to admit it just yet. It would break her…

They made it work right at 7:00 and James glowed when he saw the two of them walk in together. “Shut up” Bri mouthed at James. She knew that look and she knew what he was up to.

James has always disapproved of Liam. He had always warned her of him, and she never wanted to listen. Lately, she believed him and regretted not listening to him to begin with.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, please take a seat. There are fresh donuts on the table along with juice and coffee. Help yourselves and we will get started.” James motioned towards the goodies on the table which consisted of a variety of powdered, glazed, and chocolate donuts, plus many more kinds she didn’t notice. Her stomach growled as she grabbed a chocolate donut with sprinkles.

“Do you still like your coffee black?” Andy asked and handed her a cup of coffee.

“You remembered,” she blushed. He smiled at her and took a seat next to her. Their names were assigned so they were seated by their partners. 

After everyone grabbed a donut, James cleared his throat.

“Okay guys, settle down. Now, as you all know, we will be starting the week off by doing some recruiting. You and your team will draw a town from the hat, and this year, you will get to do something different.”

Murmurs were heard across the table. James is really stepping it up this year.

“Now with this year’s recruiting week, you get to pick the college. I have colleges that have opted to participate in each town, so you will have a list after you choose your town.  
Each of you will get a different state and town, so no one will feel too competitive.”

There were gasps of excitement heard throughout the room and “yes!”’s heard from a few of her coworkers. 

“Now, I will walk around the table and bring the bowl of town names and you will select one. There will be no trades. There will be NO complaining. If you do, I will cut half of your pay. I’m not messing around this year. They are on my back to have the newbies recruited in and done professionally so I want my team to do the same, understood?”

They all nodded and he began to pass the bowl around. He finally stopped at Bri and Andy and gave Bri a wink, like he was taunting her for getting along with Andy. 

“Who wants to pull the town for your team?” James asked them.

“Bri can do it, ladies first I say.” He smirked at her and she stuck her tongue out.

“Now, now Bri, that’s no way to treat your partner who’s being sweet.” He laughed. 

“Just pull the name already or I will.” Andy reached for the bowl but Bri stopped him. She grabbed the paper and unfolded it slowly, just to aggravate him.

“Colorado Springs, Colorado. Yes!” Bri could hardly contain her excitement. She wanted to be as far away from home and she was so hoping they wouldn’t get Texas. She went to grab the information sheet on her town and it had some college names she hadn’t heard of and some of the bigger ones. 

“Now, you all know I don’t want you just doing the big colleges. The smaller ones have potential. If you see your papers, they will have a number on them and if you have an even number you will do the bigger colleges. If it’s odd, you do the smaller ones.” James passed out the remaining information on their sheets and they had the number 3 on their sheet. 

She scanned the document and she noticed the “place of stay” was a 1 bedroom cabin in the outskirts of town. Her eyes widened and she so desperately wanted to talk to James about this, but then he would cut her pay. He did that on purpose…

Andy saw it too. His face was pale and he was silent for a minute.

“So…Colorado. You get your snow.” He nudged her jokingly.

“Heh, yeah. And it’ll be nice to stay in a cabin…but one bed?” She scratched her head.

“Don’t worry I’ll take the couch. You can have the bed. If you still sleep the same way I’d rather that anyway.” He realized that he probably shouldn’t have said that. He waited for the backlash but silence. 

Bri was red-faced and looked away. Maybe this wouldn’t be such a horror story anyway.

“Thanks, Andy.”

“Anytime, Brie.”


End file.
